Unescaped Cage and Faint Red Haze
by Panda Warrior
Summary: Nightmare would succeed, there was no one to stop him, not anymore. No one would ever be able to stop him again. They would never be able to find his one weakness, not with their new eyes, not with the eyes of a demon on their side.
1. Joking in the Sand

**Alright this One-shot has been written to stop Writers block/ Sludge. **

**Actually it's kinda fun to write Jecra, so you might see more of him in my future stories.**

**I hope this doesn't turn into a multi-chaptered story...**

**~Panda Warrior~**

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Meta Knight sighed, another day of work, done. He and Jecra had once again been paired up for a difficult mission. His gloves were now a dull red, Jecra's cape was stained with the same coppery substance. They began the long two day trek back to the Galaxy Star Army's base on the barren planet they were situated on at the moment. As they walked they gathered wood and other things. Their footsteps left faint imprints in the sand, the silence was somehow comforting for the two Warriors. They kept walking until day turned to night, when it did they found shelter on the side of a cliff. The two knights calmly entered the small cave, a pile of firewood in Jecra's arms.

"Ah another days work is completed,eh Meta?"

"Indeed. Jecra, how come we are both being sent on more difficult missions?" Meta Knight calmly asked.

"If you must know, we are planning to launch an attack against Nightmare. I just hope we'll survive," as Jecra said this, he looked towards the stars, his hands forming wrinkles in his cape as he thought.

"What is bothering you, Jecra?" They had been friends for a long time, so they could easily tell when the other was nervous or worried. Jecra only fiddled like that if he was really troubled. Jecra looked up, then walked over to the fire, sitting down he pulled out a small mug filled with soup. When it was heated he took a long drought from it, his mask hanging slightly crooked.

"N-nothing is bothering me, Meta! Your eyes need checked!"

"Right..."

"Fine, but first let me ask you something. Do you know about the wonders of love, Meta Knight?"

"Love-? Love is a foolish, simplistic thing, Jecra. It ruins good people, and it just makes things so much more complicated. I hope you have not fallen victim to its outstretched claws. Honestly Jecra, soldiers of our rank should never even think about such nonsense things!" Meta huffed.

Jecra sadly shook his head, sighing as he did so. Meta Knight could be so thick-skinned at times it wasn't funny. So he hadn't experienced the wonders of love. The anti-social hermit probably had only one friend- Jecra himself.

"Meta Knight, you need to find yourself a girl- or guy if that's what you're after. The thing is... I have, as you so kindly put it, fallen victim to love's claws. If you did experience love-" he was cut off.

"Enough with all this nonsense Jecra! Why must you keep talking about it like it's the best thing in the world? We are high ranking knights, things like this shouldn't matter at all! Why can't you of all people see this!-"

Jecra let him rant it out, Meta Knight had been known to hold back emotions, it would be better for him. He wondered why his friend was so against love, it seemed the more the word was mentioned the angrier he became. He was so worked up over such a tiny thing, if it were a different situation Jecra might have found it funny. Meta seemed to be done blowing his top however, so Jecra handed him his own cup 'o soup.

"Lighten up, my spherical friend. If you hate it that's fine with me, but whether you like it or not I plan to marry her." Jecra chose his words carefully, not wanting his friend to lose it again. He watched as Meta Knight wearily set his cup down, his face angled away from Jecra.

The shadows seemed to grow in size, the light _pitter-pat _of the rain echoing off the cave walls. Jecra sighed, and that too echoed off the shadowy walls as he looked towards at the small, empty locket he wore around his neck. He looked over at Meta, who seemed to be silently brooding. He couldn't help thinking,'_Why is he so against love, anyways? It's not that big of a deal...unless he's never known love before?'_

"Meta Knight. Were you abandoned when you were younger? Is that why you can't tolerate the notion of love?" Although his tone was questioning, he was solemn. If Meta was truly abandoned as a child, it made sense. Every time he saw a family, Jecra would notice something eerily different about his fellow knight, he turned almost robotic, completely polite, respectful, and all the while avoiding unnecessary contact. He would just watch, eyes flickering between amber and gold, his hands folded tightly into fists-near his scabbard.

"It's nothing, Jecra. Absolutely and positively nothing. Why should you care, anyways? It has nothing to do with you, and it never will. So get out of my business," his tone and choice of words cut Jecra like a painful swipe from a sword. Wearily, Jecra put his hand on the shorter knight's shoulder, wincing at the stiffness beneath his fingers.

"Meta Knight. Why didn't you tell anyone? Have you been sufferi-" Jecra's hand was wrenched off the shoulder, Meta's footfalls barely audible to Jecra's naturally sharpened hearing.

"Meta, Meta Knight! We are supposed to be _hidden_, you of all people should know that!"

Meta Knight just continued walking in the general direction of the star army base, not even seeming to care that he was breaking the mission code. Soon, Jecra's own footfalls joined Meta Knight's , and they started the trek once again. He numbly erased their footprints as they went, noting that at night the normally scorching of the planet turned into freezing ice. Once again sighing, he issued the transformation technique, turning his stained cape into a light jacket.

He found his thoughts drifting to the face of a beautiful maiden, one who would be waiting for him when he returned to his domain. He felt the corners of his mouth turn up at that thought, and he re-adjusted his mask.

The shadows began to part, making way for the two flaming orbs as they made their way across the sky. Something glinted in the early morning light, a small, shining beacon to their eyes. Approaching the item, Jecra picked it up, noting the small Cerulean gem in the top of the staff. It was metal, a perfect spur of the moment weapon if needed. He held it up for Meta Knight to see, whose eyes took a shade darker than normal.

"Well this doesn't look good, Eh Meta Knight?"

Meta Knight responded by walking into the base, the silence almost deafening. He swept over the rooms, checking within and signaling if there was any life within them. Jecra's heart sank, so far no survivors. They spread out, checking more and more shadow filled rooms. Things were strewn everywhere, and occasionally you'd see deep red or purple stains on the walls, furniture, and floor. He saw in a small room there was a special code for distress written clearly in a sticky, ink-like substance. He picked up a small frame that had a long crack going down the length and his throat went tight. One of their best sentries... he had a family that he might never be able to see again.

He heard the heavy clunking of Meta Knight's shoes above, the thuds barely making an impact on the eerie silence within the walls.

"Sad isn't it?"

"Meta, please don't do that again, I'm mourning our losses."

"If you insist."

He looked down at the picture again, and then at the distress signal written in that black substance. He fell on his knees, a clatter as the picture fell out of his hands. He felt a sharp pain in the hand that was desperately clutching the cane they'd found earlier. He saw red slowly begin to pool around the top of the cane. Jecra stared at the blood, his blood, and clutched the cane all the more tighter. He watched as his hand slowly stained red. When he felt questioning eyes on the back of his head, he quickly pulled his glove back on, angled away slightly from his friend.

There was the slightest narrowing of those golden orbs, before he heard,"Well, we should try to look for clues, it might help us to know where everyone is."

"You're right, Meta. They wouldn't have given up without a fight. I just hope..." he picked himself up off the floor, feeling the soft pocket of his pocket before he turned. He fingered the locket, knowing that soon he would put a picture within it, he just couldn't find the perfect one. He looked at the fallen picture once more, before leaving the room.

"What is love? Why do so many people long for it?" Meta looked down at the photograph, and quickly turned heel, his footsteps were heard as he passed out of the room. "Love is a stupid foolish thing, and the people who believe in it just want a fairy-tale that will never happen." He began to walk to the outside again, no blood making it's way onto his shoes.

"Meta Knight, there are no footprints leaving out of this place, aside from ours. Ready to be a true 'knight in shining armor?'"

"If I must. We can't just rush in unexplained, we need a plan."

"Metty-"

"I told you never to call me _that._"

"Ah, but my friend, sometimes it's just so hard to resist. Come on, as your superior I order you to come with me."

"You order me? Jecra, we're of the same rank, so therefore you have no authority to order me to do anything."

"Never mind, let's just find the other soldiers. We can't launch a mass attack against Nightmare with only two people."

Meta just sighed, walking towards the direction the sun was setting, the east. His footprints barely made any difference in the desert landscape, grainy sand just replace what had been moved. Jecra looked back down at his hand, the middle already had a weak red stain, he'd have to bandage that up later. They continued walking, before Meta Knight held out his arm, his gaze pointed forwards.

He rushed forwards, touching the wounded soldiers star pendant.

"He won't make it...Blood loss."

Jecra looked at the young sentry before him. Now Sir Kibble would never be able to see his family in the living again. He watched as Kibble's breath grew short and shallow, his hand clutching the cutter he wore on his head.

"Tell... her I'll miss her...and that...I...love her..." the eyes within the visor dimmed from their pale blue into nothing, the whole time Jecra thought of his own loved one. She was always by his side, and he might never be able to see her again. Meta walked over and began performing the on-duty burial routine. He pulled out round, flat rocks and arranged them into the letter of the deads first name.

"Rest in peace, Sir Aaron Kibble, and may you be remembered in honor. I release your soul into the sky, join the other warriors of the galaxy."

"He had so much...he had a family...he shouldn't have had to die..."

"Agreed, Jecra, but sometimes it just...works out that way."

"He had a family, Meta! A caring bloody family! And he just left this world, do you not feel any remorse at that at all? I don't care if you don't like the concept of love, but his family just lost a good man! Is everything just routine for you? Sure love may be stupid, but those who throw away love and live in hate are demons, Meta, demons! Do you not understand that! Is life just-"

"shh... it's Nightmare's base. You-we might be able to save everyone, there's no time to waste."

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**Well what do you think? Whoopdie do da day, it turned into a Multi-chaptered fic. Also slightly darker than intended...Well if you want me to continue I can't read minds. **


	2. When One Looks Inside

**Heheheheh...I didn't mean to forget about this story, promise! I am not good at juggling stories...well Mirrored Eyes was updated fairly quickly! Enjoy!**

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"shh... it's Nightmare's base. You-we might be able to save everyone, there's no time to waste."

Jecra grumbled, Meta Knight was always like this. He always strayed away from the topic at hand with something more 'important'. In short, Metty didn't like to feel embarrassed, or for that matter uncomfortable. He looked at the lifeless form of Sir Aaron Kibble, wondering why Meta seemed so content with death, not troubled in the slightest. Once his companions claim reached his ears, Jecra's thoughts went immediately to combat situations and how they would infiltrate the base. He searched for all possible exits and any weaknesses, but he could find none.

Jecra felt his feet move out of their own accord, back and forth, back and forth. Jecra began to do pace, slowly gaining speed the more he did so. His mind was filled with complex strategies but he knew none would work. He continued to pace, thinking more and more complex strategies that wouldn't work. He wasn't a general, but he knew strategy, and the more strategies he thought of the more he dismissed. If anything, he had to risk his life for _her,_ if it came to that. He heard something different in the area around him, but quickly shook his head against such insecurities.

"Jecra...Jecra! Were you even listening?" Meta's voice brought him out of his reverie, causing Jecra to jump slightly.

"Of course I was listening, we should go over the plan again for safe measures." He replied, knowing full well that Meta Knight could easily see past his reassurances.

"I knew it. Anyways, I was saying that we could attack demon beasts and be 'willingly' captured. Then we most likely will be brought to where the others are being held, when that happens...well we've been captured before. Now do you have it, or am I to repeat myself again?"

Jecra considered his up-front idea, Meta Knight had always been one for the most complex of ideas, and yet he was offering one of the simplest solutions? It didn't make sense to him. He glanced at Meta Knight and felt the edges of his vision turn darker. While he had been thinking of complex strategies that wouldn't work, Meta had found the simplest and most possible situation. He looked back at the base and rubbed the empty locket. He had made his decision.

"While I fully agree with you Meta...there haven't been any demon beasts around here for a while. What are-?" He was cut short by Meta Knight roughly shoving him to the ground.

"Meta...what are you doing...?" Jecra managed to say before sand filled his vision, nose, and mouth. He only had a split second to see the golden orbs of his friend turn to a dark, menacing silver. Pain shot across his shoulders, and he felt warm liquid blossom underneath his tunic. More and more came from his back as he was attacked by the whip of his former friend. Once he felt the nausea from blood loss, and he felt his will and determination diminish, Meta brought him back out of the sand and wrapped a cloth in between Jecra's jaw. He grabbed Jecra by the arms, and none to gently pushed him towards a corner of the demon's base. Jecra felt his vision swim, his nose burned, and through this all he could feel was the burning fire that raged within his chest.

His clothes bloodstained and himself barely able to stand, Jecra could just make out a small notch in the side of the wall. From the reflection, his captor's eyes were still silver, and his _friend _seemed to be enjoying himself far too much for this to only be acting. He watched as Meta seemed to listen to the wall, as if waiting for something. He felt the wave of nausea hit him again as he looked at his companion, the person in front of him...wasn't Meta Knight. He couldn't be, Meta had a sense of honour! He would have to wait before he confronted the impostor, it was hard to talk with a gag around your mouth anyways.

There was a soft click and a small portion of the wall swung inwards, exposing the horrors beneath the sturdy walls. He was inside the base and that thought alone brought him intense loneliness as he knew he wouldn't have anyone to support this move at all.

Jecra felt his eyes narrow beneath his mask, the edges of his vision turning a dark ruby red. He held back mental curses as Meta shoved him inside the base, the fresh wounds angrily throbbing against the sudden contact. Again and again he was shoved, that is until they reached a grand looking door, polished and trimmed with a copper colored substance that looked almost like blood. Meta forced him into the room behind it, and bowed down upon entering. Jecra felt the corners of his mouth tug down even more than they already were, his vision filling with red. On every corner of the room-no every possible space, it was covered in failed experiments or the starts of a new one. If possible, Jecra would've lashed out at the next thing he saw. The captured Star Warriors armour lay strewn about everywhere, and through a window to the next room he could see Sir Arthur getting beaten and tortured.

Jecra felt the unnecessary pressure applied to his own wounds as another demon beast brought him in front of something previously covered by a giant chess board. A throne, covered with the same substance as on the door, was occupied with none other than the evil tyrant himself, Nightmare. Now he knew why 'Meta Knight' had bowed, it was a respect thing.

"_Remove the gag, I want to hear it scream in pain."_

The two demon beasts holding him quickly untied the gag, but Jecra felt blood from his mouth. He would not speak, he would not divert more attention to himself. Nightmare simply waved his arm and Jecra felt the two demon beasts behind him smile. A sense of dread replaced the burning that had been there only seconds before. He looked behind him at the growing number of demons under Nightmare's command, each waiting for his blood to hit the floor, each awaiting for his screams of pain to reach their ears. Their eyes glinted maliciously back at him, and the fear within him only seemed to intensify. Their cruel smiles was the last thing he saw before he was whisked away to another room.

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The demons cackled with glee when their newest captive was sent away. They would have fun watching him crack, sensing his fear and all the more blood to feel run down their throats. That was the last of the Star Warriors, who would stop their reign now? Many of the demon beasts had already tasted Star Warrior blood and those who hadn't were anticipating the rare delicacy.

The demon beasts looked at their life-long partner, Meta Knight. He was the one who gained the Star Warriors trust, and he was the one who told the beasts where they could locate the army. It was all a part of the plan, and no one had suspected their dedicated commander to be one with Nightmare.

Sharp sounds of metal against metal, clicks and groans, and a chilling red gaze filled the room they occupied. The demon beasts let out frenzied and excited sparks into the air. Their blood-lust grew more fierce and more refined as they waited for their master's orders, but until then it was a mass of hungry and blood-crazed beings. The games were to be held in a month, and that would certainly bring fresh blood to their mouths.

They would wait, and they would feast. Nothing would stop them from enjoying the way they had been built, absolutely nothing. Their enemies may try, and would most likely die in the process.

"_Dragoto, Hikaru, and Seffali torture him until he is ready to break, then we'll send him in to the Chamber of a Thousand Uses. Make me proud." _Nightmare's voice cut into the havoc, calling to the demons like honey does to a bear. He would see the last of the Star Warriors suffer, and he'd see it with his own eyes. Nightmare allowed the edges of his mouth turn the corners into a cruel smile. He would enjoy this, and his puppets would finally rest well that night.

Nightmare watched as the three demon beasts he'd called slowly got down on one knee and bringing their other arm up to a salute. Then they briskly walked out of the room, leaving the rest of their brothers and sisters to stay in a state of frenzy.

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Jecra watched as three monsters stepped into the room, a dragon, a pure dark cloud that absorbed light, and a humanoid like himself. One brought out a whip, the other drew its claws, and the third seemed to only intensify in its dark shadow. Their eyes a mixture of blood lust, and something different, something far more intelligent than their mindless bodies. It was that something that gave him the strength to face the morning.

Even with a bloodied and bruised body, he would always have hope. No matter what, you could always have hope, even if it seemed the world was against you.

Jecra winced as he was yet again led forcefully to another room, this one was filled to the brim with different crystals along the wall and creating a labyrinth-like room. There were things within the crystals, but he couldn't tell what they were from the distance he was at. His three torturers looked at him, and began to converse in whispers, clicks, and other noises. All noises he couldn't understand.

"_What should we do with him, Seffali? Obviously the normal method won't work and he still has that glint in his eyes...Surely you can think of something?"_ Dragoto hissed to his partner.

"_Well, if the normal won't work and the abnormal is against our Leader's wishes...Why don't we try the in-between? He wouldn't know what hit him, and it would begin the process slowly and painfully. We could wait for his hope to drain out, and by that time he'd be perfect for the games," _Seffali easily responded, casting Jecra a dark look as he did so.

"_I believe that might work, Seefalleee. My, your plans are so unorthodox, I like it," _The ghastly cloud murmured, laughing after she'd spoken.

"_For the last time Hikaru, it's Seffali, not Seefalleee! Now get the antidote to the toxic thing known in this world as hope or love!" _ Jecra watched as the two other beings scrambled around the room after the humanoid had spoken. So he was the leader of the small group, eh? Overall, he'd heard two names, Hikaru and Seffali. He believed that the ghost thing and the humanoid were Hikaru and Seffali, now he'd just have to listen for the dragon's name.

Jecra watched as something familiar passed under Seffali's eyes, and felt himself sink when it was quickly squashed and those eyes remained cold and humorless. The two other demon beasts assigned to him quickly held him down, and handed Seffali a small syringe filled with a dark liquid. Seffali gave him a smirk before he got down on his knees and whispered in Jecra's ears, so only Jecra could hear,"This is going to be fun, elf-boy." With that said, Seffali injected the liquid into Jecra's arm, the substance draining seconds after it pierced the flesh.

Jecra's vision faded away into a blank nothingness as his world exploded into more pain than he'd ever experienced before. His very core felt like it was on fire, burning and burning with an eternal flame. It felt like every atom in his body was being ripped and shredded, only to be put back together again to face the same thing. He felt a scream escape his lips, his heart was beating frantically inside his chest. The pain wouldn't ebb, it only continued coming as his back arched and he let out another scream of agony.

After this, he decided, the only time Nightmare would hear him scream would be a cry of victory, not submission. And it would be Nightmare the one to cower in fear, not the other way around. He would save every living being from within Nightmare's clutches and he would bring them to the light again. Even Meta Knight, the one person who he thought he could count on, but most importantly, he would save _her_, no matter what it took.

He felt Hope rise within himself again, and this time, he wouldn't let it become withered like a tree without water. No it would stay strong as the mighty sun, and it would continue to shine brightly for all to see. He would stop Nightmare, even if it cost him his life. He would save Meta from the clutches of evil, even if he had to kill his friend to do it. And he would save the leader of the small band of torturers, of whom he'd seen a flicker of something familiar. Jecra would no longer be in the sidelines, it was his opportunity to take, not anyone elses, his, and his alone.

"My my...aren't you an interesting one. That spark of yours is still there, and that dose doesn't seem to be working now, does it? Say 'Sayonara' to everything, kid, there isn't anything left to hang onto," Seffali stated, before he injected something of a royal purple color into Jecra's veins.

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Meta Knight tried not to wince as he heard more and more frequent screams of his friend. He'd betrayed him, but it had been for what he was made to do. He had been created to lead the Star Warriors into Nightmare's clutches, and he'd done it well.

He looked backed at his master and felt a small ray of anger well up inside him. He was not supposed to be this way, he'd fallen victim to Nightmare's trap! The Star Warriors were supposed to have won, and he knew it was all because of him that they lost. No, that was dangerous thinking, he was Nightmare's demon beast, not a Star Warrior. It was the recycled soul that was talking through his thoughts, not his own. He'd done what he'd been made to do, and he shouldn't feel remorse for his actions. He was 90% demon beast, the other ten just made actions possible, nothing more nothing less.

Jecra was a pawn, not a friend and not a foe. Just a pawn that he used to anchor the trust he gained. It was right for the Star Warriors to be punished, they had went against his master's wishes. Jecra was nothing to him. He only cared about his home and his people in the tyrant of evil's base.

'_Really now? Then why do you have to keep reassuring yourself, puppet?' _The voice of that recycled soul coaxed to Meta Knight. It had been there since his creation, and for as long as he lived, the voice would plaque his thoughts and emotions like a parasite.

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**Okay, just want to get a few things straight.**

**1. Hikaru is the black thing of smoke, Dragoto is the dragon, and Seffali (Sah-fall-ee) is the ****Humanoid. **  
><strong>2. Hikaru means bright light, so I put that in there because I love irony.<strong>

**3. I have yet to make a plot for this, but if you could tell me where you think it's headed, that would be greatly appreciated.**

**Please review if you want to.**

**Enjoy the site!**


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